The present disclosure relates generally to medical appliances for patients that require the use of a foley catheter bag. In particular, support sleeves for securely holding catheter bags that can be comfortably worn underneath a user's clothing are described.
Patients that suffer from urinary incontinence or, for any number of medical reasons are unable to relieve their bladders conventionally, may need to resort to a medical device known as a foley catheter bag. The device uses a tube that discharges into the catheter bag for collection. The user wears the catheter bag continuously while going about the user's daily routine.
Known approaches and equipment for wearing foley catheter bags are not entirely satisfactory for the range of applications in which they are employed. For example, as can be seen in FIG. 1, prior art methods of wearing a catheter bag typically involve strapping the bag to some portion of the user's leg under the user's clothes, or carrying the bag externally, which discloses its existence. The discharge tube is typically secured to the user at some intermediate point between the bag and the catheter to isolate the catheter from unwanted (and potentially painful) movement. FIG. 2 shows a close-up view of the catheter bag with the prior art straps for securing the bat directly to a user's leg, as well as an adhesive strip for securing the tube and isolating the catheter from movement.
These means of attaching and wearing a catheter Dag are not entirely reliable. Strapping a bag to a user's leg carries with it a substantial risk that the catheter bag could inadvertently slip down and be exposed, causing both embarrassment and, if the tube is not sufficiently secured, pain from a moving catheter. The straps are limited in how tightly they may be cinched to avoid interfering with the user's circulation. Consequently, a user must take care in day day activities to avoid inadvertently dislodging the bag. Furthermore, the catheter bag, by definition being made of a waterproof material, traps sweat and may irritate some user's skin when worn in direct contact, along with repeated use of an adhesive strip for securing the relief tube. Finally, inadvertent slipping of the catheter bag and/or failure of an adhesive strip to sufficiently hold the relief tube in place can increase the likelihood of the user developing a urinary tract infection.
Thus, there exists a need for devices for wearing catheter bags that improve upon and advance the design of known devices for wearing catheter bags. Examples of new and useful catheter bag support sleeves relevant to the needs existing in the field are discussed below.
Disclosure addressing one or more of the identified existing needs is provided in the existing detailed description below. Examples of references relevant to the disclosed catheter bag support sleeves include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,032,118, 5,935,116, 6,887,223, and 7,077,833. The complete disclosures of the above patents and patent applications are herein incorporated by reference for all purposes. These references disclose alternatives to using straps to secure catheter bags to a user; however, most require the user to wear some additional undergarment.